What do we do when we don't have a kitchen and our house is ripped apart and completely dysfunctional?!?!

I know I sound way dramatic right now, but really, life is tricky with a 16 month old, no kitchen whatsoever... I wash cereal bowls in the bathroom sink, and that is life for the time being. Oh, but one day very soon I will have a beautiful kitchen that is all mine. I did promise months ago that I would post pictures of the process, but I have somewhat recently decided I'd wait until the very end for a Big Reveal (can you tell I love HGTV) and show before and after shots.

So... back to my reason for this post, this is what we do when our life is a bit dysfunctional. We play in the car. Schedule as many play-dates as possible....

And get as dirty as we possibly can in Grandma's backyard... then finished the day off with a bath in the sink! Bryce loves it when I let him get dirty... though as the mother of a boy, I suppose I don't always have a choice.

Yesterday, I came out into the backyard to find Bryce like this:

And like a crazy mom, my first thought is not about how I'm gonna get the kid out, but rather, where the heck is my camera?! I have to say, these are perhaps my new favorite pictures.

This one in particular makes me think I should be a professional photographer.

His head dropped down in discouragement when he realized he was stuck.

Then I helped him out like a good mommy would.

Check out that dirty face! Only to get that dirty everywhere!

You simply can't NOT get dirty when grandma puts you in a filthy wheel barrel.

Thanks Grandma.

And then it was bath time!

I love this kid. And I love having a mom so close with a home we can crash at when we don't have a normal home of our own!

It was such a beautiful day...

...We thought it'd be a great day to meet daddy for lunch. Benicia has a cute little park with plenty of squirrels to entertain Bryce. Bryce loves being outside. He always seems so content and relaxed in the beautiful outdoors.

There were several cute picture moments during lunch and the beginning of our afternoon, but I failed to get my camera sooner. Luckily this happy boy on the swing persuaded me to make the trek to the car, and I'm so glad he did. I love this little face!

I am so thankful I can be home with Bryce. I'd rather me be home playing with him all day than needing to pay someone else to. And then again, it's really nice when we can make the short drive to visit daddy, so he can take a break from work and play with us too.

More fun at the ball park.

We went to another A's game last Wednesday, you can't beat two-dollar Wednesdays! My parents joined us, and we also met up with our good friends Linda and Kaylee. Weather was a little cold, but not too bad, and the game was the perfect length for Bryce. He managed, again, to get a cat-nap in for the first couple innings, then was ready to go for the rest of the game.His first red vines experience. Lucky kid. Don't get use to that Bryce.

Flirtin' with the ladies! He's way too good at that.

My mom was really excited about the game. She hadn't been to a game since '91, when a fowl ball landed right on Jared's chair, but we were all too busy wrestling over the wheat thins that it bounced in the lap of a little girl seated below.

CHP was handing out stickers, and since Linda and Kaylee work for

the CHP call center, they had to make sure someone sported the badge.

That responsibility was gladly accepted by Bryce.

Bryce and Bobert.

In our attempts to get Bryce off the bottle, one afternoon I tried swapping Bobert the Bear, in exchange for his bottle. It worked and now Bryce is hooked. He loves going to sleep with a stuffed animal, and Bobert is his favorite. It's so cute to watch him hug his bear and hold him tight around his neck. I love even more, that since he's now a bear hugger, his hugs for me are outstanding! I look forward to getting him up from bed, or his nap, and when I pick him up, he just hugs me for a while and rests his head on my shoulder. These are rare moments with this active little boy, so these moments mean the world to me.

Here's Bryce with Bobert, sitting in his favorite spot.

I should add: Bryce is still attached to the bottle, but he's come a long way and Bobert is definitely making the transition an easier one. Thanks Bobert.

My spooning wall is complete!

Cooking with Grandpa.

He bakes with Grandma, and cooks with Grandpa. Just wait until he gets with Grandpa Carlson... This kid is gonna love to cook!

And did I make mention of this enormous wok yet?!?

I love these men!

The Car-seat clown!

Here he his, helping us all enjoy the ride!

Not the most graceful shot, but I had to put this one in. He sits like this a lot!

waving bye.

Aunt Linda, Baby Taylor, and Uncle Mike!

With Bryce as the exception, "mixie" babies are the cutest! Is "mixie" appropriate in the U.S.? It was the term of choice in Hong Kong... sorry if that bothers anyone. But really, Taylor is the cutest thing! Good job Linda and Michael. Make sure you have more. Two's not enough, so we think you oughtta have four. We resurrected the Johnny-jump-up for baby Taylor to try out. Bryce thought she was hilarious and wanted to try it again too. Though it was more of a swing for him.

"pound it"

Congratulations Andy!

Our good friend Andy and his wife Rebecca have lived through the MCATs and so they threw a party to celebrate. They weather was a little chilly, and therefore the hot tub was full as soon as it was warm. It was a great time, and we are so grateful for good friends. Also a bonus, our good friend Rebecca (a different one) was in town with her little boys. This girl has been all over, currently lives just blocks away from some of my favorite relatives, and I hope so very much that we will see her more often. Bryce had a three month spell where he hated anything to do with water. Thank Heaven that is all over with. They kid loves it now!

Bryce and I look so white next to these gorgeous tan girls! Wow!

Water makes every picture great!

Giants game!

This wasn't Bryce's first baseball game, but you'd almost think it was. He fell asleep the first three innings, little cat-naps are great. Then enjoyed being passed around for the rest. AT&T park is really nice, and the company was great too.
A bit of nostalgia... Two bites and I was done! Ty's not a garlic fan, and my palate has adjusted, so Bill's garlic fries were way too much for me. Ty told me my breath smelt bad for at least the next 48 hours.

Let's just call this guy 'Uncle Bill'.

Cat-nap time.

Bryce is down there...somewhere.

The simple things!

Little boys are so fun! We love little girls too, but I can't help but look at these faces and remember how much I love little boys! Life is so fun with Bryce. We've been busy remodeling our kitchen, but we're grateful to still have time to play and let Bryce brighten up our life!